The Catalyst
by Celestial-moon-fire
Summary: What if the Catalyst never truly existed? What was meant to power the Crucible and end the Reaper threat, once and for all? the truth will be revealed, if it's the last thing Shepard does.  I've included an OC for the sake of a Renegade chapter.  In the process of a rewrite
1. The Catalyst?

Well as we all know, the endings to Mass Effect 3 sucked. They were confusing, offered no closure at all, and opened a million new plot holes, as well went against everything we'd just done, such as retaking the Quarian home world, or uniting the Turians and the Krogan.

Many of us are attempting to come up with a way to explain this, and I've decided the ending needed tweaking. And... Yes, enjoy. I've prepared a Paragon and Renegade section sort of for those of you who don't want to stick with just one choice, and I'm playing off my Garrus Romance, so, hopefully no one minds that.

And one more note before I begin, I stuck an OC in for the sake of Renegade optioning, so beware. Salarians have long names. I mean really. It's what, Home world, nation, city, clan, and given name? I must have researched for hours before just finding a name generator and clicking through a million random letter combinations.

And one more thing, tell me if it feels rushed. I have a feeling is is, but I can't judge my own writing very well, so I'd love to get your opinions.

Anyhow, enjoy the story.

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><p>Shepard pulled herself to her knees, using her shaking arms as support. Every movement made her body scream as her burns, cuts and scrapes shifted. Large gashes, only partially healed, thanks to her cybernetics reopened, spilled fresh damp blood down her body. Already she could feel the heat from her inflamed skin radiate from her body, permeating the air with the thick stench of sickly iron and decay. The deep red began to pool around her knees and seep under her palms, making them itch.<p>

Her brain pounded painfully against her skull, probably from either the loss of blood, the long fight through London, or whatever the Illusive Man had just pulled. She wasn't sure which, but she was betting on the blood loss playing a huge factor. She must have lost more than her body could spare by now. Any moment she would pass out and die, if she hadn't done so already.

But if she was dead, she wouldn't be in so much pain. Ashley told her after Kaiden's death on Virmire the pain he suffered would have gone away when he died. Shepard had no reason to doubt Ashley then. She still had no reason to doubt her now, so she couldn't have died; not yet.

For a while there was silence while she processed this, as well as complete disorientation, and an uneasy dizziness that set her stomach lurching. A silent groan of discomfort representing her pain, exhaustion, and confusion all at once eventually spread past her lips. The small sound seemed to reverberate against the walls and ceiling, growing louder, burrowing into her brain through her ears and sending several sharp jabs of pain throughout her brain. Her eyes burned with unshedable tears of agony, but she bit them back and forced her head up to examine her surroundings.

She could still see Earth: Reapers, and her own allies, all fighting hard just outside a glass panel that spanned the entirety of the helical dome, stretching far up the rounded sides and clinging to part of the ceiling. Stray bolts of bright blue energy struck the glass like lightning, and bounced back to where they originated: A large machine, smooth and seamless, taking residence in the very centre of the room. A beam of light blue shot outwards from the depths of the machine and through the ceiling.

The glow was strong, and her eyes squinted against it. Her head only grew worse and dropped down against her will to stare at the smooth silver floor. Soon she could pick up the delicate hum of the advanced machine. It was soft, at first, and sweeter than anything she'd ever heard in her life. But at the same time, the music was strong, and a raw, powerful anger washed the entire room. An anxious feeling welled up inside her as the hum grew louder, bringing with it a promise of danger.

Shepard suddenly lost control of her limbs, and her arms buckled beneath her, numb and hollow from their unmoving position. Her face cracked against the ground, and blood exploded from her nose and upper lip. It took a moment to make her tingling arms move and push herself back up. Her panic grew with the increased volume of the demonic music, until she could hardly breathe. She drew in great gasps of the precious oxygen, faster and shallower as the hum of the machine grew louder, until she covered her ears and tried not to scream for silence- and then it ceased.

The noise died down. Instead, the soft patter of footsteps against the floor replaced it and drew her gaze upwards again, searching for the owner through the thick beads of water squeezing past her stubborn eyes.

There he was. The same boy from the vent, her dreams. His form was pure energy, like that running through the machine. Wisps and tendrils grew off his shoulders and face, his clothes, into the air and back into him again. It almost resembled her barrier, and she could feel a strong biotic aura pulse from his form to mingle with her own. Was he there to tell her she really was dead? After all, he never made it off Earth. Maybe she didn't either. Maybe everything was a huge 'This could have happened' deal, and she'd never made it to the Normandy.

He eyed her curiously for a moment, as if unsure what to do with her, before crouching down and offering his hand. Shepard felt a sense of relief as the pain raking her body seemed to melt away when his hand brushed her own. She watched, amazed as her arms seemed to stitch themselves back together, almost as if she'd been given a dose of medigel.

"Wake up, Shepard." His words echoed vibrantly around the vast hemispheric dome.

His voice caught her off guard. Could a voice that melodious have come from the boy she'd failed to save on Earth? The terror stricken voice haunting her every nightmare? The expecting glance in his eyes told her she hadn't imagined the calm, collected voice ringing through her ears. The context of his words were just as confusing. What did he mean by, 'wake up?'

"What?" As the boy tugged on her hand with a surprising strength, giving her the needed momentum to haul herself up, the pain returned, nearly sending her down again. The recently closed wounds, aggravated by her movement began to tear. Through gritted teeth, she added, "Where am I?" He released her hand and she nearly crumpled. Her shoulders hunched forward and her eyes squeezed shut as her stomach rolled.

"We're on the Citadel." He responded. "It's my home." The Citadel. Shepard attempted to think past the pain filling her mind with muddled smoke, and comprehend the revelation. They were on the Citadel. The structure seemed accurate, and she could see it, if she really looked into the flawless design. But she didn't understand how the boy played into it. He lived on Earth, didn't he? Why was he on the Citadel now, of all times, of all places, threatening to knock her away with a biotic pulse that sent tremors through her body the way not even the Collector General could?

"Who are you?" Did she want to know? A nagging feeling in the back of her throbbing mind said no. But then he reached for her hand again, clutching it comfortingly, sealing her wounds and sending away her pain and her doubt for the second time. Her clouded mind was being overcritical, she thought, basking in the warm, painless glow his touch offered.

"I am the Catalyst."

Shepard blinked, staring at the blood dripping from her chin and forming puddles on the floor. The Catalyst wasn't the Citadel after all. But how would this boy, stricken with fear all those months ago, be the answer to her problem?

"I... Thought the Citadel was the Catalyst," she voiced. The Catalyst stroked the back of her hand with his small fingers, leaving a familiar biotic tingle that made her hand twitch

"No. I am the Catalyst, and the Citadel is part of me." He released her hand again, and her headache inched its way back slowly. He turned his back towards her, setting his eyes on the machine residing in the middle of the room. There was a silence, save for the hum of the thing, which began to grow louder again.

Feeling the panic return, Shepard quickly filled the void with her own words to cover the sounds threatening to take over again.

"I need to stop the Reapers." The statement came out sounding more desperate than she'd intended, but didn't care, as long as the silence didn't return. "Do you know how I can do that?"

The Catalyst faced her again, and his lips twitched back in a quiet smile.

"Perhaps." Perhaps wasn't a yes, but it was the best thing she'd heard for a while. Maybe there was hope after all. Maybe the raging battle outside would end, and she would make it back to that warm, tropical place Garrus mentioned so fondly what could have been no longer than a few hours ago. She allowed the spark of hope to lift her spirits, almost smiling, until the Catalyst began again.

"I control the Reapers." Then her heart sank. "They are my solution." The Beacon on Thessia had mentioned the Reapers most likely had someone who told them what to do. Was this it, then? Despair, outrage, a range of emotions she couldn't place all surged through her tired body at once. She didn't know if she could take it. Her legs felt like they'd been replaced with those of a Hanar; not suited to hold her weight any longer. But she couldn't allow herself to show it.

"Your solution to what? What have we done so wrong that you've deemed in necessary to kill everyone?" Her voice grew the dangerous edge it had lacked since losing Earth. The Catalyst sensed her anger, and before she could pull away, their hands were locked again, numbing her mind.

"Chaos." He peered into her face, past the blood and dirt and sweat, into her eyes, locking his on them. "The creation will always rebel against it's creator. But we found a way to stop that from happening."

Was rebellion a good thing? The numbing effect was doing little good for her judgement. Their rebellion was for a good cause. To protect their way of life, the ones they called their friends and family. "We found a way to restore order for the next cycle." Was it really for the better?

Had the Catalyst not preserved them from extermination when they wiped out the Protheans? Javik himself had explained when the time was right, they would be forced into the Prothean empire or left to face the galaxy alone, but...

"Why wipe out organic life?" Why do it again and again, always to help the next cycle, but destroying them later on?

"We don't wipe them out. We harvest the advanced civilizations." The Catalyst tugged her hand gently, leading her after him before loosening his grip. The numb tingle in her brain didn't disappear like before. "We leave the younger ones alone, to flourish on the bounties of an unspoiled galaxy, just as we left your people the last time we were here."

Shepard shook her head, feeling the throbbing headache return, mixing with the numbness. "But you killed the rest... Who are you to decide when a species is ready for extinction?"

"You aren't listening. We don't destroy." The Catalyst stopped short, and shifted his head back over his shoulder to send Shepard a glare of annoyance, which vanished almost as soon as it came about. "We harvest the old life, and store them in Reaper form to make room for the new life to begin."

"I think we'd rather keep our own form," Shepard hissed, eyes narrowing. "You don't know what would happen if you allowed us to live past our cycle, do you?" The Catalyst didn't answer. He set a strong pace around the machine again, causing Shepard to run after him, though she slowed down immediately when the first few steps nearly caused her to fall. The strain was enough to tug at some of her other wounds, including a deep cut stretching across her stomach. Biting back a grunt of pain, she used her left arm to hold pressure over the injury and followed at a much more reasonable pace.

"You... Never answered my question..." She forced through clenched teeth, almost wishing he'd reach out and relieve her of the pain again. But this time she would be wary about his touch, knowing now how he fogged her mind.

"I don't have to see it to know. Synthetics are a part of your life. But as I said, the creation has the tendency to fight the creator. Without the cycle, Synthetics would destroy all life. That is why we have created the Solution. Your Quarians, for example, were nearly wiped out by their own Synthetics. If we were to leave this cycle alone, they would continue on their path of destruction and destroy all means of life in the galaxy."

"If you hadn't noticed," Shepard flicked her eyes briefly out the window, catching both Geth and Quarian fighters, "the Quarians and the Geth have made peace."

"It will not last." The Catalyst replied immediately. He reached for her again, but she stumbled back, keeping a safe distance.

"Who's to say? No one will ever know... You're taking away our future, and even if you promise to preserve the new life, you've already taken their future as well. Not one species in this galaxy has a chance. Without a future there's no hope. And without hope..." She trailed off, uncertain. "We may as well be machines, programmed to perform one function until the next model comes out."

The Catalyst was silent for a moment. Now she felt more aware, and the Catalyst was silent, she was able to examine the machine even closer, There were two platforms, both seemingly unreachable. One was showered in red sparks, and the other bathed in a cool blue light. There was a strip in between that led to the beam that travelled from the floor and out of the ceiling.

"You're the first organic to set foot in this room. The fact you are standing here proves you have more hope than others." His voice made her jump. He continued without pause. "But you have also proved that my solution won't work any more."

Shepard perked up slightly. Would he call off the attack, and let them live? Would she return to an Earth free of Reapers, back to her friends, and back to Garrus? She waited eagerly for the Catalyst to continue, hope once again rising up.

"What will we do now?" Her voice masked her excitement, but inside, she was hoping he would agree to let her cycle continue living.

"We find a new solution." He turned towards the strip leading to the depths of the machine. "The Crucible changed me. Created new... possibilities. But I can't make them happen."

She had a feeling, by the way the Catalyst now held her gaze, that she was to make a choice. Swallowing what moisture was left in her parchment dry mouth, she nodded.

His gaze left hers and reached the platform in red. "I know you've thought of destroying us. You could wipe out all synthetic life if you want. That includes the Geth. And even you; your cybernetics make you partly Synthetic."

Shepard thought immediately of EDI, and then of the Geth. Could she harm them to destroy the Reapers? She would sacrifice herself in a heartbeat, but not so many of her allies. And then Garrus himself had cybernetic implants up the right half of his face. What would happen to him?

"And the Mass Relays would be destroyed in the process."

She thought back to the reason she was on trial months ago, for destroying the Mass Relay and killing everyone in the system. If she destroyed all the relays at once, all life would be gone, wouldn't it?

"But the Reapers would be destroyed?"

"Yes... But the peace won't last. Soon your children will build more synthetics, and they will destroy them."

Shepard stared into the palm of her right hand, tracing the scared lines with her eyes. She'd killed so many before. Not everyone was the enemy, either. Could she bring herself to use her hands to murder innocents again? Could she risk the threat of galactic extinction with the destruction of the Mass Relays?

"You have doubts." The Catalyst pointed out. "There is still a second option, however." The Catalyst explained. "Do you think you can control us?"

Shepard looked up, and eyed the blue platform. The image of the Illusive Man and his deteriorating mentality reaching for the controls came to mind. She would be like him, wouldn't she? If she took control, she would do exactly as he wanted to do from the start. And if she took absolute power, she knew that always in the past, power lead to corruption.

"_They're too strong, I... I tried, Shepard."_

And then it hit her. She stared at the Catalyst in shock, not registering anything else he said about the second option. The Illusive Man had been there before the Catalyst was ready to fire, true, but could he have been in the same place as she was? Is this how he chose indoctrination, by merging his body with the Reaper consciousness?

"There is one last choice you could make. Synthesis. By adding your energy to the Crucible, the final evolutionary stage of organic life will be achieved, and there will be peace."

Saren, back on the Presidium Tower... the last image she had of him was his internal struggle with his synthetic implants, fighting Sovereign's control over him. His vision of synthesis had led to his own death.

"_The implants... Sovereign is too strong, Shepard... You don't understand, but I have to do this..."_

Her options were all in the Reaper's favour. Destroy them, and probably take all organic life with them. Control them, and become indoctrinated, like the Illusive Man. Merge with them, and again, become indoctrinated, just like Saren.

"What will you choose, Commander?"

She suddenly felt tired, like laying down, and resting, despite the raging fight just in her sights outside the Citadel. A chuckle escaped her, and her legs finally did fail her. She didn't complain when she landed hard on her injured knees, or panic when she brought up her right arm, soaked with too much of her blood to cover her face.

"My choice..." She trailed off, tilting her head back and sliding her eyes shut. "My choice is to stay here and wait to die."

"What?" The Catalyst was taken aback, and then a rage took over his small form. The powerful biotic pulse she could already feel increased with his anger. "You can't do that! You MUST make a choice!"

"The way I see it, my only choice is indoctrination, or annihilation. I choose neither." Shepard eased her legs from beneath her and stretched them out, hissing at the sting, and then assessed the heavy trail of blood that had followed her. She should have passed out by now, should have died. Something was keeping her alive, but she didn't know what. Maybe the Catalyst was influencing her life force.

"Then you will watch your cycle fall! Your home, your family, everything you fight for!" A stab of pain flashed through her skull and images lingered fresh in her mind. Her team, her entire family of mismatched species all broken and bloodied on the ground miles below. Even Javik, the Prothean jerk she'd come to care for as a part of her team was there, when he'd handed her the memory shard. Was it still there? She reached into her pocket and wound her fingers around it, assured of its safety, and wondered how the owner was faring. It was painful to see them, dead, because she dragged them into this mess.

Well, all save for Zaeed; she knew for a fact he was down there alive and kicking, probably bashing a Reaper's face in with a rock. He was the one person she couldn't see dying, and the image brought a smile to her face.

"So many of them are dead already. If you make the choice now, think of how many you would save." She thought about it. Was he right? How many of her team mates had died to get her here, to make this choice? She thought for a moment, the images of her team still flickering on and off in her mind. Oddly, that image of Zaeed refused to let her give in. If there was a chance even one of her team was alive, she couldn't give up.

"No..." Shepard was resolute in her decision. She would not sway, and make a choice that would give the Reapers exactly what they wanted. Her eyes snapped open and she unclipped her Paladin, activating her barrier. Time seemed to slow down. She'd reacted just in time to avoid a powerful warp, dripping with hatred and anger. With an angry yell, she was on her feet and already unloaded all six shots into the powerful figure of the Catalyst, and when the weapon slipped trying to reload, she changed tactics to her biotics.

The impact of her warp field knocked the Catalyst back, and something strange happened. She felt the flicker before she saw it, or registered what she'd seen, and took it as a sign to keep moving. She yelled with each throw, warp, and reave she tossed on the Catalyst, ignoring her splitting head pain, and the trickle of blood oozing out of her ears and nose. Each impact sent her back to the dark room with the control panel. She saw Anderson, crumpled in a heap on the floor. She saw the Illusive Man, cold and dead on the ground. She saw the control panel, waiting for her orders to set off the Crucible and end the war. She saw the ground, just outside the Conduit, where she'd been knocked out originally.

"You can't do this! How are you doing this?" The Catalyst shrieked, fighting back with his own powerful biotics. The more enraged he grew, the harder it was to keep the form of the child from the vent. His voice revealed she was correct, and Harbinger had wormed his way into her mind. The shape he took flickered to that of a collector, and then to a scaled down holo of his Reaper form, before back to the child again. His attacks now flew through her body, not touching her. He couldn't influence her, he couldn't kill her, or change her, as he did to the Illusive Man, or as Sovereign did to Saren.

She channelled all her power into a final warp field, and the the impact was blinding. A dazzling white light filled the room and she awoke with a scream of pain. A hand pushed down on her chest, forcing her to lie back. Tears sprung to her eyes as the agony rippled across her body in wave after wave. She couldn't see what was happening for a few terrifying seconds, but was aware of someone calling her name.


	2. The Conduit

I've heard it called teh Conduit before, but I'm niot sure if that's the official name. oh well. Moving on. I also just realized how similar my Salarian's name is to Maelon and Morlan *headdesk* That's what I get for naming characters during PSSAs, I guess.

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><p>"Calm down, Commander, you're only aggravating your injuries!" She snapped her eyes open through a thick fog of blurring shapes and met a pair of large Salarian eyes. Mordin? Shepard calmed down enough to prove her theory, only to find a nameless Salarian instead. He had a soft teal scale colour, and his appearance was very young, but his eyes were reflective of the intelligent Salarian she'd known. The Salarian who'd died to make sure she had enough support in this last fight.<p>

"Lucky to be alive. You were hit directly with laser, after all. Not sure how you managed to survive. Applying fourth coat of Medigel- Hold still commander, you've already reopened the wounds three times!" She barely registered what he said, or the cooling effect the medigel had on her burnt body. Above her was the conduit. She'd never made it to the Citadel. Harbinger must have knocked her out beforehand. Everything she'd just witnessed, the Catalyst, The Illusive Man, Anderson's death, was it all a part of his mind game?

If so, was the Illusive man somewhere safe, waiting for the end of the fight, or was he really on the Citadel, prepared to kill her and take control?

"Help me up..." She demanded through clenched teeth. "I need to reach the conduit... I need to open the arms..." There was time to doubt or think about what had just happened.

"Movement is not advised," the Salarian started, halting when an explosion went off not too far away, crouching over her body to protect the gaping wounds, still knitting themselves together with the medigel, covering her body from a thick storm of dirt and debris. "But desperate situation says otherwise. Will help you to the conduit while the Reaper is powered down." He nodded towards Harbinger, who was still, and his eye blinking as if in need of a replacement light.

She sighed in relief, silently thanking the nameless Salarian for pulling her to her feet. She realized his appearance was a blessing. She was unable to walk on her own. Looking down, she was alarmed to see her foot was twisted to the side and hung limp, and a shard of metal had broken through the skin of her leg, exposed after most of her armour had been burned off in the laser strike.

"Open puncture wound on right leg, non problematic," The Salarian explained. "Also noticed swelling of ankle region. Appears to be broken, or at very least, badly fractured." She must have been hit pretty hard if her reinforced bones had snapped.

"Well isn't my day just going great." Shepard muttered. "Help me to the conduit, we don't have much time." She reminded.

"Of course." The Salarian draped her arm around his neck and ordered her to use him as a crutch, keeping all pressure off the injuries in her right leg. The new task, now that Harbinger was no longer prodding her mind, had cleared her thoughts, allowing her the strength to think clearly. Whatever happened, she needed to get to the Citadel, and she needed to open the arms. It was a good thing the conduit wasn't far off, or she was worried they'd never make it. Several times the pair tripped up over a fallen ally. Every body they passed, a sickening worry filled her mind. She hadn't Seen Javik or Liara since Harbinger had knocked her out. What if they were dead?

"Commander, incoming hostile." The Salarian warned. Snapped out of her thoughts, she immediately reached for her Paladin, the only weapon she still had with her, and though her aim was terrible with her left hand, she managed to take out the husks that were coming for them. The closer they got, the more husks arrived to slow them. She ran out of clips, cursing her weapon for having such a low capacity, and resorted to defence, by setting up a barrier around the Salarian guiding her to the Conduit.

It was hard to hold it up for so long, and the condition her body was in already made it infinitely harder, but she was able to hold it long enough to reach the Conduit. They were sucked into a bright white light and her organs felt like they were being squeezed slowly out of her body, but it was over in seconds. She was now in a room she didn't recognize at all. It was pitch black, and the only source of light came from the combined efforts of their omnitools.

"Where are we?" Shepard asked, hoping the Salarian knew. He shook his head. The room was small, and littered with bodies at various stages of decomposition. Immediately after the stench and the sight registered in her brain, she lost it and gagged uncontrollably. She was glad she'd been running on an empty stomach for the last few hours, or she'd have coughed up more than a mouthful of stomach acid.

"All this decay. Need to find a way out. Could cause infection and further illness." She was in no hurry to disagree. Increasing the power of her omnitool, the glow was enough that they were able to locate a door, and quickly burst through it, gasping for fresh breath. They now stood on a metal walkway hanging over a churning metal compartment that spanned the perimeter of the large cavernous space. A dark blue haze clouded her eyes and made her squint as it flickered back to white, and blue again over and over, reminding her of the many trips to Asari Dance Clubs on Illium.

"I guess we're headed this way." She grunted and urged the Salarian to move forward. They passed through the pulsating space for what felt like hours to her tired body, skirting around an uninterested Keeper who nearly pushed them over the railing trying to get by. At least her leg had gone numb from the pain, she thought. But in the past that was never good. Unless the Medigel was working that well, it normally meant something bad was going to happen if she wasn't fixed right away.

"Commander, there's a door here." The Salarian pointed out. She held back the urge to yell 'no kidding,' and nodded. She leaned against the railing as the Salarian set to work on the door panel, closing her eyes against the pulsations.

"What's your name? I never thanked you for helping me."

"Mannovai Ildreria Sael'Isar Vian Maelorn. And you are welcome, Commander." Shepard blinked at the long name. Salarians and their titles.

"I'll just call you Maelorn to keep it short, alright?"

"Acceptable." Maelorn agreed. "Door is open. Ready to continue?" Shepard nodded and grabbed hold of his shoulders again to hobble into the room, glad to see the console standing in the middle.

"There..." She collapsed against the console, using it for leverage before setting to work, dismayed at the strange language presented on the keyboard. It wasn't Prothean, and it wasn't something her translator knew, either.

Most likely it was in the language of the original builders of the Citadel.

"I don't understand a word of this." She growled. "Translator won't pick it up either." So what would she do now? Press buttons, and hope for the best?

And explosion rattled the citadel and she clutched the console tightly. Pressing buttons was the only thing she _could_ think of at moment, so that's what she did. Press buttons. But of course she did nothing but turn off the lights, sending them into a darkness only broken by the soft glow of the console's screen.

"Perhaps the keeper we passed has valuable information." Maelorn suggested hopefully.

"That sounds better than pressing random buttons and hoping for results. But how would we make the Keeper help us?"

"You see the packs they carry on their backs. I could download the information from them to my omnitool. Maybe. Should I try?"

"Yes. I'll be here." The Salarian nodded, and turned, heading back out the door. She couldn't think of a way to thank this Salarian for all the help. Keeping her alive, helping her to the Conduit, and taking her this far was almost too good to be true. "Good luck." But she didn't think he would be successful.

"Will be back shortly, commander." Maelorn was gone, then. The door slid shut with a hiss and Shepard sighed, taking the moment to rest on the ground. She rested her back against the console. Her head drifted down and she felt her eyes sliding shut, but was resolved to stay awake long enough to see this mission through.

The door slid open and she expected to hear Maelorn's voice, but was surprised instead by the rough purr of a Turian.

"Commander Shepard." She groaned and looked up. Was this another mind trick? Standing before her was someone she never expected to see again. "I didn't think you would _ever_ be defeated after that stunt you pulled last time you died."


	3. Saren

This is assuming you were able to convince Saren to kill himself at the end of ME1. poor baby ;A; *pets Saren*

And now you see why Maelorn was needed. I couldn't sacrifice one of the team for the sake of a Renegade option xD

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><p>The silver plated Turian looked much better than she'd last seen him. Though the last time he was just a collection of bones crackling with biotic energy and cybernetics. His body no longer showed the implants he'd been rewarded with, and she had to admit, it suited him far better than the machinery. Though, strangely enough, he was encased in a bright green glow, and a grid lined his entire being.<p>

"Well I guess you were wrong again, Saren," she grinned. "I probably won't make out of this room, will I?"

"That remains to be seen. I always thought your fate was set in stone, after all. But you just proved me wrong." He fell in next to her, sharing the back of the console but leaned forward with his arms crossed over his right knee, and talons flexing inwards.

"You know, Harbinger was always the strongest of the Reaper force. One of the oldest. It's a feat in itself to fight off indoctrination of a lesser Reaper for just a few minutes, but it has yet to have happened until today for an Organic to deny Him completely." He studied her grime covered face intently. "You saw right through him. You withstood what my form could not. What your Illusive Man could not. What no one else in the history of any cycle has ever done."

"That's why you won't be leaving this room without seeing the end of this war. Harbinger offered you three choices, each of them in their own way a form of indoctrination. But I offer you one choice to counter the Reaper invasion. The question is, will you take it...?" He trailed off, watching her. His gaze made her uneasy.

"I think the question why should I trust my dead enemy? For all I know, you're just another vision attempting to indoctrinate me." Saren tossed his head back and laughed, as if it were the greatest thing he'd heard in years. She didn't find it very funny. Her concern seemed honest enough.

"Every other cycle, whether by accident or intentionally, as you came, never have I met a hero as amusing as you. The other three failed to meet my requirements, but you... You definitely amuse me."

"Others? I thought you said no one else had ever made it this far." Or at least that's what she thought he'd said.

"I said no one else had made it this far without Harbinger gaining control. Three others before you have made it to this chamber, but I had to dispose of them. They were tainted."

Shepard shook her head, confused. Was she hallucinating again? Everything that tumbled from her dead adversary's mouth made no sense to her in the least. "Just what are you?"

"I was wondering when you would ask. I," he stood again, stretching high above her, "am a part of the Citadel. I have been here since I was built by my cycle once they understood how to stop the chain, and I have been waiting for the Catalyst for a long time." He offered her his hand. She took it tentatively, wrapping her fingers weakly around the cool metallic talons.

"If you were built so long ago, then why do you resemble a Turian? And Saren, at that."

"I have taken the form of who you would most likely believe. Sampling your memories, I found the Turian you called Saren to be appropriate. After your last meeting, you believed you could pull him out of the indoctrinated state he was in. You believed he could change. I can think of no one else who would better deliver the message to you."

She was shocked how much he knew about her thoughts. And the more she thought about it, she realized he was right. Saren was able to clear his head long long enough to pull the trigger and give her the time to open the arms the first time she'd faced the Reapers. And here it was only fitting he was there to do it again at the end.

"There isn't much time left for you. You have many synthetic implants in your body, keeping you alive. But they won't be able to save you for much longer." That explained why she was alive after the beating she'd taken. And if he was telling the truth, which honestly she couldn't deny, considering how many injuries she'd sustained, he was.

"All right. I can believe that. What do I have to do?"

"You have a choice to make. A choice that will forever end this. But there is a sacrifice you must be willing to make. Only I will be able to open the arms with this console, and when you attach your crucible, I will activate it. But to destroy the Reapers, it needs a sacrifice. Someone who is willing to be the Catalyst, to do whatever they have to do to protect the galaxy."

The Catalyst really wasn't the Citadel after all. If she could trust this Saren VI, then the Catalyst was meant to be an organic, a sacrifice. "I have to... Kill myself, to make it work, is what you're saying?"

"It's the only way, You must present the Citadel with a proper power source. There must be a Catalyst. But... There is another with you. His mind is untainted by the Reapers as well. When returns, you could easily sacrifice him in your place, and you would have a chance to live. When you have made your decision, either you or the Salarian will be absorbed into the Citadel."

The AI set to work on the console, and within moment, the arms were opening. A bright white light erupted from the area below, and the floor shook as a circular portion grew out, creating two rounded tubes. One was a soft blue, and the other was a light red.

"When you have made you choice, step into one of the tubes. The blue indicates your sacrifice, and the red, your survival." And then, he disappeared. She had no idea where he went, but was glad she had the moment to think. She peered out the edge of the Citadel, examining Earth through the expanding arms, and watched with relief as the large blueprint had taken form of a great weapon approached. The citadel shook as the Crucible attached itself.

She didn't have much time left to think, before her ally returned, so she needed to do it quickly.

What were her options? Kill herself, and end the Reaper's torment, or sacrifice the Salarian who'd just saved her moments ago? Without a doubt, she would do anything to stop the Reapers. Shepard desperately wished he'd said nothing about Maelorn, though, because she found herself thinking about pushing him into the battery slot the Citadel had prepared for this moment.

She wasn't normally so conflicted on morals. She'd jump in a heartbeat, but...

"_Forgive the insubordination, but your boyfriend has an order for you. Come back alive. It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you."_

Could she do that to him? She promised she'd make it back alive, and she had the choice to return in mostly one piece, could she abandon all morals to do so?

Her time for a decision was up. The door slid open again, and Maelorn walked in with an air of failure about him, which was replaced by confusion.

"You pressed the right buttons, commander?"

"I had help. I must have activated a VI somehow, and it helped me out. I know how to stop this now." This was it. "We just need to take these to the Citadel ground level to escape the energy the Crucible will release when it goes off."

"Which one do we take?" He titled his head. Did he know what they did? Had he heard? No, he couldn't have.

"Both. We can only fit one of us into each tube." She made her way to them, choosing hers first to make sure the Salarian didn't know what he was choosing. Now or never. "I'll see you on the other side, Maelorn." She smiled.

"Yes, will see you up top."

They stepped into their respective elevators, and they slid shut. The red one shot upwards, and the blue plummeted down toward the centre of the Citadel, the heart, where the energy was forming.


	4. Nihlus

And THIS is assuming that you were unable to convince Saren. I find that BOTH Turians would be approriate for Shepard's final message before her decision, seeing as how they both impacted her story greatly. I'll have teh Paragon/Renegade endings written soon. I don't know if I plan to write out a middle way ending where they both live, but I think I'll do an epilogue where Garrus dies and one where he doesn't. And Mordin and Thane might just make an appearance too xD Since garrus thane and Mordin were ny favourite friend trio in ME2.

* * *

><p>The Turian was looking much better than she'd last seen him. Of course, last time, he'd been in a pool of his own blood with a bullet through his skull. Though, this time around, a strange grid shed a green light over light brown plates.<p>

"Well I guess you were wrong, Nihlus," she grinned. "At the rate I'm going we'll be in Spectre Heaven together, right?"

"That remains to be seen, Commander. I always thought the same thing, until recently." He fell in next to her, sharing the back of the console, but leaned forward with his arms crossed over his knees and his talons flexing inwards.

"Harbinger is one of the oldest Reapers, and probably the strongest they have on their side. It's a feat in itself to resist indoctrination of a lesser Reaper for a few minutes, let alone Harbinger indefinitely." he studied her grime covered face intently. "You withstood what no organic ever has in the past, Shepard."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "And that is why you will not leave this room without seeing the end of this war. Harbinger offered you three choices, as he always does to anyone who makes it thus far. But They are all forms of his control. I, however, offer you a chance to end the cycles of destruction once and for all. But the question is... Will you take the chance...?"

"No offence, Nihlus, but why should I trust you? The last time I saw you, blood was still pooling around your body. You could be another image meant to indoctrinate me."

Nihlus shook his head and chuckled. "Every other cycle, whether by accident or intentionally, as you came, never have I met a hero as amusing as you. The other three failed to meet my requirements, but you... You definitely amuse me."

"Others? I thought you said no one else had ever made it this far." Or at least that's what she thought he'd said.

"I said no one else had made it this far without Harbinger gaining control. Three others before you have made it to this chamber, but I had to dispose of them. They were tainted."

Shepard shook her head, confused. Was she hallucinating again? Everything that tumbled from the dead Spectre's mouth made no sense to her in the least. "Just what are you?"

"I was wondering when you would ask. I," he stood again, stretching high above her, "am a part of the Citadel. I have been here since I was built by my cycle once they understood how to stop the chain, and I have been waiting for the Catalyst for a long time." He offered her his hand. She took it tentatively, wrapping her fingers weakly around the cool metallic talons.

"If you were built so long ago, then why do you resemble a Turian? And Nihlus, at that."

"I have taken the form of who you would most likely believe. Sampling your memories, I found the Turian you called Nihlus to be appropriate. He was there in the beginning of your journy, and now, he appears to you at the end. I can think of no one else who would better deliver the message to you."

She was shocked how much he knew about her thoughts. And the more she thought about it, she realized he was right. It was true, if Nihlus hadn't offered to mentor her for the Spectres, she wouldn't have begun her long journey to stop the Reapers. It was only fitting that he was here to see her off, as he;d started this whole mess in the first place.

"There isn't much time left for you. You have many synthetic implants in your body, keeping you alive. But they won't be able to save you for much longer." That explained why she was alive after the beating she'd taken. And if he was telling the truth, which honestly she couldn't deny, considering how many injuries she'd sustained, he was.

"All right. I can believe that. What do I have to do?"

"You have a choice to make. A choice that will forever end this. But there is a sacrifice you must be willing to make. Only I will be able to open the arms with this console, and when you attach your crucible, I will activate it. But to destroy the Reapers, it needs a sacrifice. Someone who is willing to be the Catalyst, to do whatever they have to do to protect the galaxy."

The Catalyst really wasn't the Citadel after all. If she could trust this Nihlus VI, then the Catalyst was meant to be an organic, a sacrifice. "I have to... Kill myself, to make it work, is what you're saying?"

"It's the only way, You must present the Citadel with a proper power source. There must be a Catalyst. But... There is another with you. His mind is untainted by the Reapers as well. When returns, you could easily sacrifice him in your place, and you would have a chance to live. When you have made your decision, either you or the Salarian will be absorbed into the Citadel."

The AI set to work on the console, and within moment, the arms were opening. A bright white light erupted from the area below, and the floor shook as a circular portion grew out, creating two rounded tubes. One was a soft blue, and the other was a light red.

"When you have made you choice, step into one of the tubes. The blue indicates your sacrifice, and the red, your survival." And then, he disappeared. She had no idea where he went, but was glad she had the moment to think. She peered out the edge of the Citadel, examining Earth through the expanding arms, and watched with relief as the large blueprint had taken form of a great weapon approached. The citadel shook as the Crucible attached itself.

She didn't have much time left to think, before her ally returned, so she needed to do it quickly.

What were her options? Kill herself, and end the Reaper's torment, or sacrifice the Salarian who'd just saved her moments ago? Without a doubt, she would do anything to stop the Reapers. Shepard desperately wished he'd said nothing about Maelorn, though, because she found herself thinking about pushing him into the battery slot the Citadel had prepared for this moment.

She wasn't normally so conflicted on morals. She'd jump in a heartbeat, but...

"_Forgive the insubordination, but your boyfriend has an order for you. Come back alive. It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you."_

Could she do that to him? She promised she'd make it back alive, and she had the choice to return in mostly one piece, could she abandon all morals to do so?

Her time for a decision was up. The door slid open again, and Maelorn walked in with an air of failure about him, which was replaced by confusion.

"You pressed the right buttons, commander?"

"I had help. I must have activated a VI somehow, and it helped me out. I know how to stop this now." This was it. "We just need to take these to the Citadel ground level to escape the energy the Crucible will release when it goes off."

"Which one do we take?" He titled his head. Did he know what she did? Had he heard? No, he couldn't have.

"Both. We can only fit one of us into each tube, after all." She made her way to them, choosing hers first to make sure the Salarian didn't know what he was choosing. Now or never. "I'll see you on the other side, Maelorn." She smiled.

"Yes, will see you up top."

They stepped into their respective elevators, and they slid shut. The red one shot upwards, and the blue plummeted down toward the centre of the Citadel, the heart, where the energy was forming.


End file.
